PROVIDENCE – In separate interviews Thursday during a televised candidate forum at Rhode Island PBS, the two Republican candidates vying for the open 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House shared views on energy strategies, abortion policies, world matters – including the war between Russia and Ukraine – and Donald Trump.
Gerry W. Leonard Jr., a Jamestown resident and the Rhode Island Republican Party’s endorsed candidate, felt abortion should remain a “state issue” in lieu of having a federal policy, a policy that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned in June 2022. Leonard acknowledged that Rhode Island in 2019 codified the legal right for women to have an abortion in the Ocean State but said he “firmly” believes in the 10th Amendment, which says the federal government only has those powers delegated in the U.S. Constitution.
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“I believe those authorities belong to the state,” Leonard said. “And, they ought to remain in the state.”
Terri Flynn, a former Middletown town councilor and Leonard’s primary opponent, was not asked Thursday by the moderators about abortion.
When asked if he would scale back offering tax credits for energy companies supplying wind power – and potentially stop developments of wind farms off the Rhode Island coast – Leonard said the state and nation as a whole need to “look forward in time” and discussions on renewable energy needs to be had between both parties. He did say a “balanced approach” needs to be taken to the country’s national energy strategy where you do not discount the “reliables” – coal, oil and gas – and invest fully in renewables.
“With our wind farms, it’s only going to work when the winds are blowing,” Leonard said. “We don’t have the capacity right now to store that energy.”
Leonard also felt the country should invest in “second-generation” nuclear power as an energy source, citing the U.S. Navy has used nuclear power for the last 65 years “without incident.”
Flynn said greenhouse gases are “warming our oceans” and concurred with Leonard that balanced “good energy policy” is needed – being environmentally sound without being detrimental to living costs. But she said she doesn’t feel “the numbers support” continuing offering tax credits to energy companies at this point. Flynn claimed, without providing specifics, that it’s “common knowledge” that wind turbines decay over time and wind projects are being abandoned because numbers that worked in an earlier economy “don’t work anymore.”
“That leaves those who own these wind farms no one to service them or maintain them,” Flynn said.
On Social Security and Medicare, Leonard said he would not support raising the Medicare and Social Security eligibility ages to 67 and 70, respectively, saying “you don’t break a promise” to individuals who are slated to receive those benefits now. Flynn said she would “consider it” but unsure if she would support it. She said this topic would have to be studied by economists on how it would impact society, and would look at the facts first before making a decision.
Both Flynn and Leonard said they would approve the federal government continuing to support Ukraine in its fight with Russia. Leonard described Russia president Vladimir Putin as a “thug” and a “threat to peace around the world.” Both also said there needs to be a clear end strategy in mind for the U.S. from the conflict.
Leornard also said he would’ve voted against impeaching former president Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, citing Republicans were not chosen to sit on the impeachment committee and called that lack of selection not being fair. Flynn said her decision whether or not to impeach Trump would be based on data and not party influence. When pressed if she would judge Trump’s behavior in her impeachment decision, Flynn said “you have to look at the source,” referring to news organizations.
“We’re at the bottom of the food chain for information with the general public, and we’re never going to find out the whole story,” Flynn said. “So, honestly, I did not make a judgement.”
Leonard and Flynn will be on the Sept. 5 primary ballot. The winner will face one of the current 12 Democratic candidates seeking to succeed David N. Cicilline in the U.S. House.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
You have here two candidates dancing around critical issues and offering up either pablum or disinformation along the way. Leonard made the most shocking claim when he said “it’s “common knowledge” that wind turbines decay over time and wind projects are being abandoned because numbers that worked in an earlier economy “don’t work anymore.” Really? The last time I checked the Europeans are adding about 500 offshore wind turbines annually. As of 2020, Europe has installed over 5,047 grid connected wind turbines across 12 countries, generating 22,000 MW of power.